17 November 2014

Most of this week’s pictures are from the office where I work, and from a course in cooking arroz alicantino, or paella, that we went to on Saturday morning.

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A scene from home to start the blog. The cat drinks from the dog’s water bowl while the dog protests outside:

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Tuesday night we had another wine tasting at the office, this time presented by a bodega from our own Alicante province, El Sequé. The bodeguero is passionate about his wine philosophy and is always happy talking about his wine and about wine in general:

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The people in the audience listen attentively:

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Contemplating the wine:

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Smelling the wine:

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Tasting the wine:

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Afterwards, we eat. Philippe is actually the man in charge of the food service at our office:

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Animated conversation:

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The construction of our new office building is proceeding at a fast pace, with the inauguration ceremony set for November 17th, and the first occupants moving in during January. Work goes on day and night to have at least the ground floor ready for the inauguration:

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Serious landscaping:

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As usual, I was out cycling every morning, before going to work. One morning the sunrise along our beach was particularly photogenic:

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Friday night we went to eat at Los Charros, our local tapas place which I had not visited since April for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, nothing has changed:

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When you order a beer at Los Charros, you get a free tapa, such as this stuffed tomato:

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Or one of these mini-open faced sandwiches:

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The main dishes at Los Charros are plentiful and cheap, ranging from 4 to 8 Euros. This is not light food, which is why I have not been here for some months. On this occasion, I ordered codillo, the Spanish version of Germany’s Eisbein or Poland’s golonka:

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On Saturday morning we attended a course in making Alicante rice, commonly known as paella (although paella is just one kind of rice dish made here). The instructor, a chef called Mario Piñol, starts with the basics, explaining the types of rice grown in the Valencia region:

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The ingredients are lined up; here, seafood:

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Cubed chicken and rabbit:

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The heart of each rice is the broth, or caldo which, for best results, must be made from scratch. Here, Mario chops the vegetables:

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Red wine is added, partly for taste, partly for colour:

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The caldo is made with fish pieces (often less desirable ones such as heads), vegetables, wine, herbs and spices:

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Swinging the pot:

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Stirring the pot, with an interested onlooker:

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Mario is not a cook who does things “by the eye”. He measures and weighs the ingredients. Olive oil, for example–30 ml per person: